Fan attachment for rocking-chairs



(N0-Model.) 2 sheets- Sheen 1. C. C. SPALSBURY.

FAN ATTACHMENT POR ROCKING CHAIRS.

ATTY,

(No Model.) 2 sheets-Sheet 2.

o. C. sPALsBUR-Y. FAN ATTACHMENT POR ROGKING CHAIRS.

110.451,18?. PatentedApr. 28,1891.

INVENTOR'.

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Nirn STATESl CHARLES O. SPALSBURY, OF EASI` ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

FAN ATTACHMENT FOR ROCKINGV-CHAIRS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 451,187', dated April 28, 1891.

Application tiled May` 17, 1890. Serial No. 352,182. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern:

Be itknown that I, CHARLES C. SPALsBUaY, a citizen of the United States, residing at East Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fan Attachments for Rocking-Chairs; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertaius to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form part ofthis specication.

This invention is designed to provide a rotary fan attachment for chairs, which, when in use, affords great comfort to the person operating the chair; and the invention is further designed to provide an effective and simply-constructed device which will at all times secure the desired end, and which may be readily applied to any description of chair, and when not in use, as in the win-ter, may be easily removed, thus restoring the chair to its ordinary condition.

The form of construction selected to embody the invention in an operative machine is illustrated in the accompanying two sheets of drawings, which show the novel features on my invention.

In said drawings,Figu re l represents aside view of one form of chair, the lower part or the base of the same being represented in section, and to the cross-pieces of which is attached the mechanism for operating the rotary fan above the seat of the'chair. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the gear-operating mechanism attached to the fan-propelling shaft. Fig. 3 is afront view of the saine, and Fig. et is a top view of the casing containing the gear mechanism. Figs. 5 and G are vertical sections taken through lines x and y, respectively, in Fig. 4; and Fig. 7 is a sectional View of one of the joints connectingthe tubes containing the fan-propelling shaft.

Similar letters of reference are employed to indicate correspondingparts in each of the above-described views.

In the drawings, A indicates the base of a chair, upon which rocks the chair by means vof the rockers A.

To the cross-pieces d and a is attached in any convenient manner a tube B, which is bent to conform with the back of the chair, being secured to the base in such a way as to allow the rocking of the chair without any danger of the back thereof interfering with or striking the tubing.

As shown in Fig. l, the tube B is provided with projections l) and b', attached thereto in any well-known manner, whereby the tube can be attached to the cross-pieces by means of bolts or screws, as shown, or by means of ordinary clamps, as will be evident.

The forward end of that part of the tube B beneath the seat of the chair is provided with a cap O, containing the shaft-revolving mechanism,the construction of which will be more clearly understood from the figures illustrated on Sheet 2 of the drawings. Said cap O, which is hollow to form a chamber, is provided on its upper and under sides with enlarged portions c and c', preferably square in plan, as shown in Fig. 4, which are provided With diagonally-arran ged holes c2 and c3, extending entirely through the casing and forming ways or guides c4 and c5, inV which reciprocate the racks (l and d', operated by the rocking motion of the seat-frame attached to the rockers A.

The mechanism for producing the reciprocatory movement of the racks d and d consists of a rod d2, pivotally arranged in lugs b2, formed on the tubing B between the projections Z) and b', said rod or arm passing through-a collar or sleeve d3, secured to the racks and ending in a perforated bearing d* beneath the seat, near the front thereof, as will be clearly seen from said Fig. l.

Then a person sitting in the chair is rocking to and fro, the rod or arm d2 moves on its pivot-al pin in the lugs b2, sliding back and fort-h in the sleeve d3 and the perforated bearing (Z4, whereby the racks d and d are caused to move reciprocally in their guides c'1 and lVithin said casing O is arranged a small piece of shafting D, arranged in a bearing c6 in the solid end of the casing and passing through a perforated plate d5,\v1iich is screwed upon the inner and threaded surface of the open end of the casing C, or which may be formed therein in any Well-known Collars d and (Z7 are employed to IOO retain the shaft in position between its bearings. On said shaft D directly beneath the guides or ways cl and c are arranged two pinions e and e', cach of which is provided with an annular projection e2 and e3, which is serrated or notched on the end, and which engage with correspondingly serrated or notched clutch-collars eAL and ci, secured on the shaft D by means of pins e and e7, working in slots es, whereby the clutch-collars have a free lateral movement on said shaft. Be tween said clutch-collars and the collars d6 and d? spiral springs f and f have been placed, which tend to force the teeth on the clutch-collars into holding` engagement with the teeth or serrations on the sides of the pinions.

As will be clearly seen from Fig. 5, the teeth or serrations on the clutching devices on opposite sides of the pinions c and e are formed at different angles to each other, so that when both racks Z and d are forced down through the casing C by the rocking motion of the chair-seat in the direction of arrow l the pinion c rotates directly opposite to the direction of movement of the racks, causing the serrated ends of the clutcli-collar e4 and the projection e2 on said pinion to interlock and revolve the shaft D in the direction of arrow 2. During this operation, owing to the oppositely-forined angles of the sei-rations or teeth on the clutch-collar c5 and the projection e3, said parts slide easily over one another, the pinion e rotating loosely on its shaft in a direction opposite to that of the shaft. When the racks have reached the limit of their downward movement and the seat of the chair is moving upon its rockers 1n an opposite direction, the operation of the clutch mechanism is reversed, pinion c meshing tightly with clutch-collar e5, while pinion e and clutch-collar e4 are out of mesh. By this arrangement it will be seen that no matter in what directions the racks CZ and CZ are moving the shaftD will always revolve in the same direction. The slots e8 in the clutchcollars allow the same to freely slide upon the shaft, whereby the seri-ations upon the several parts of the clutch mechanism can be forced into a locked or holding engagement or can freely slideA over each other, according in which direction the racks are moving, while the springsfandf at all times tend to force the several parts into their holding engagement. A

The tube B, which may be made of one piece and bent, as illustrated in Fig. l, contains the fan-operating shaft, which inv the shape of a spring forms a spiral or iiexible shafting g, one end of which is secured to the shaft D, while its opposite end is attached to the fan H, arranged below the elbow directly above the seat of the chair. Thus it will be seen that when the shaft D revolves in one direction the spiral shafting will similarly revolve, causing the fan H to rotate in the same direction in its plane of movement.

In lieuof constructing the tube B of one piece, the same can be put together lof several pieces, as shown in Fig. l, which are jointed by means of collars, as shown, or otherwise. As illustrated in said figure, the tube B is made up of several smaller pieces of tubing, as 113,64, b5, and b, the part b3 being curved and provided with the spiral shaft g, which is attached to the end of the shaft D at one of its ends, while at its other end 1t is secured to a straight and solid rod g,wh1ch is arranged in suitable bearings within the collar upon the part h1. Part b5, which is curved, is provided with spiral or iiexible shafting connected with a shaft in the part U.

By the construction described herein I .have obtained a very simple device for applying a rotary motion to fans adapted for use on rocking-chairs, which dvice can be constructed with ease and little laboi-,being very light and serving as an ornament, as well as the comforts derived therefrom. y

From Figs. 3 and `it will be seen that the collar d3, to which are attached the racks, is funnel-sliaped, whereby the rod d2 can freely move and slide through the same, and thereby allow the racks d and cZto reciprocate in the sameplane of movement, and causing a free and easy inet-ion of the several parts of the device.

In Fig. 7 is represented an enlarged sectional view of one of the collars or joints for securing the parts of tubing together. The construction represented is the collar shown at B in Fig. l, where the spiral or flexible shafting'is connected or attached to the solid rod g. This cap or collar DT is screwed upon one end of the tube ht, which is provided with a bearing bs for holding the. rod g' in place. Through a perforation in the top of the cap l)T is secured the tube b5, the end of g2 of the rod g projecting into said tube and the flexible shaft being attached to said end. Of course it will be understood that the parts b3, h4, h5, and h6 can be secured together by any well-known means.

If desirable, the joint 117 can be constructed in such a manner that the upper part b5 of the tubing can be rotated upon said joint, and the fan thereby turned to one side, and the wind from the same can thus be thrown to either side of the chair, as is evident.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isl. The combination, with the base of a roeking-chair, of a tube made up of sections, one of which, as h5, is adapted to rotate within a joint ZF on the section b4, 'liexible shafts or springs connected with a solid rod, said parts being arranged and adapted to rotate in said sections, means for securing said tube to the base, mechanism constructed and arranged to cause said shaft to revolve in bearings arranged in the sections of the tube, and a fan attached to said shaft, as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination, with the base of a roek- IOS IIO

IIS

ingehair, of a tube B, attached to the crosspieces of the base, aflexible shaft in said tube providedwith a fan, as set forth, a casing on the forward end of said tube, provided with a shaft-propelling mechanism consisting of two pinions loosely arranged on said shaft,a pair of approximately vertical racks working through said casingin engagement with said pinions, a sleeve or collar secured to the upper ends of said racks, and a spring-arm pivoted to the top of said tube B, loosely fitted in and passing through the collar or sleeve attached to the frame of the chair-seat, whereby during the rocking motion of the chair-seat the racksreceive a reciprocatory movement and cause the rotation of the propellingshaft and its fan, as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination, with the base of a rocking-chair, of a tube B, made up of parts orsections adapted to rotate upon each other and provided with means for fastening the same to the cross-pieces of the base, aflexible shaft in said tube provided with a fan, a casing C on the lower forward end of the tube beneath the seat of the chair, shaft-operating mechanism within said casing, racks receiving a reciprocal movement during the rocking motion of the chair and thereby operating said mechanism, and means secured to said tube and connected with the seat of the chair and said racks for producing the reci procatory movement of the same and the rotary movement of the shaft and fan, as set forth.

4. The herein-described mechanism for operating the fan-propelling shaft, consisting` of two pinions loosely arranged on said shaft at the extreme lower end thereof, clutch-collars adapted to engage with said pinions, all of said parts being arranged in a casing, substantially as described, in combination with a pair of approximately vertically placed racks,a collar or sleeve to which the upper ends of said racks are secured, and a spring-arm secured to a tube inclosing the fan-propellin g shaft, loosely fitted in and passing through said collar or sleeve attached to the frame of the seat, and whereby during the rocking motion of the chair-seat the racks receive a reciprocatory movement and cause the rotation of the propelling-shaft, as and for the purposes set forth.

5. The herein-described mechanism for operating a fan-propelling shaft, consisting of two pinions loosely arranged on said shaft, provided with teeth or serrations on opposite sides, clutch-collars also provided with teeth or serrations, said collars being` secured to the shaft by pins working in slots, and springs adapted to force said collars into holding engagement with the serrations on the pinions,

all of said parts being arranged within a casing, as set forth,-in combination with a pair of racks working through openings diagonally arranged in opposite sides of said casing and attached to a collar or sleeve and operated by the frame of the seat during the rocking motion of the same, whereby the racks receive a reciprocal movement and cause the rotation of the propelling-shaft, as and for the purposes set forth.

6. The combination of a rotary shaft D,ar ranged in bearings in a casing C and provided with pinions e and e', fitting loosely thereon and having serrations or teeth on opposite sides, reciprocating racks moving in ways or guidesin said casing on opposite sides of said pinions, and serrated clutch-collars c4 and e5, provided with slots therein and secured to said shaft by means of pins, and springs j' and f', encircling said shaft, causing the 8o locked engagement of the serrations on pinion e and clutch-collar e4 during the downward movement of rack d and throwing the clutch-collar e5 out of its locked engagement with pinion e', and vice versa,during the up- 85 ward movement of rack e', causing the locked engagement of the clutch-collare5 and pinion e and throwing clutch-collar edx and pinion e out of mesh, as and for the purposes set forth.

. 7. The combination, with the base of a rock- 9c ing-chair, of a tube provided with means for attaching the same to the cross-pieces of the base, a iiexible shaft having attached thereto at one end a fan and secured at its other end to a shaft D, arrangedin bearings in a casing C, secured to said tube, pinions e and e on said shaft, having serrated projections @Qand e3, spring-actuated clutch-collars secured on said shaft and adapted to slide thereon and engaging with said serrated pinions,racks on oploo posite sides of said pinions sliding in ways in said casing C and provided with a collar d3, and a rod d2, passing through said collar,'being pivotally secured at one end to the tube secured to the base and working through a perforated m5 plate attached to the seat of the chair, whereby said racks are caused to reciprocate through said casing C and cause said shaft D to rotate lat all times in the same direction, as and for the purposes set forth.

8. The combination, with a base of a rock-n ing-chair, of a tube made up of jointed sections and provided with flexible shafts con nected witha solid rod arranged in bearings in one of said sections, means for securing said tube to said base, mechanism constructed and arranged to cause said shaft to revolve in one direction during the rocking motion of the chair-seat, anda fan attached to said shaft above the chair, all of said parts being ar- 1go ranged substantially as and for the purposes Set forth.

9. The herein-described fan attach ment for rocking-chairs, consisting of a tube b3, attached to the base of the chair and provided 12 5 with a flexible shaft, a cap or casing on its forward end provided with a shaft D, rotating in bearings therein, and to which said flexible shaft is attached, pinions e and e', having serrated projections @2 and e3, spring-actuated 13o clutch-collars secured on said shaft D and adapted to slide thereon and engaging with said serrated pinions, racks on opposite sides of the same sliding in ways in said casing and IIO provided with a collar d3, a rod (Z2, passing through said collar, being pivotally secured ou said tube h3 and working in a perforated plate attached to the seat of a chair, whereby said racks are caused to reciprocate through said casing and causing said shaftD to rotate in the same direction, as set forth, tube b4, attached to said tube h3, provided with a rod g', arranged in bearings therein and connected at its lower end with the flexible shaft in the tube h3, tube b5, connected with tube b4 by means of joint U/and adapted to rotate therein, and theiiexible shaft connected with the upper end g2 of rod g and provided with arotary fan 1I, as set forth.

10. The combination, with the base of a rocking-chair, of a tube made up of jointed sections, one of which, as b5, is adapted to rotate in a joint bl in the section b4, as set forth, flexible shafts or springs connected with a solid rod, all of which are arranged and adapted to rotate within said sections, the forward and lower end of said tube beneath the chair-seat being provided with a casing containing a shaft -operating mechanism, racks receiving a reciprocatory movement during the rocking motion of the chair, and thereby operating said mechanism, and means secured to said tube connected with the seat of the chair and said racks for producing a reciprocatory movement of the latter and a rotary movement of the shaft and a fan attached to said shaft, as and for the purposes set forth.

11. The combination, with the base of a rocking-chair, 'of a tube made up of jointed sections, one of which, as b5, is adapted to rotate in a joint 197 in the section b4, as set forth, flexible shafts or springs connected with a solid rod, all of Which are arranged and adapted to rotate Within said sections, and a fan on said shaft, in combination With the herein-described mechanism for rotating said 'ian-propelling shaft, consisting of two pinions loosely arranged on the lower end of said shaft, clutch-collars adapted to engage therewith, said parts being arranged Within acasing having diagonally-placed openings therein, racks Working through said openings and engaging with the pinions in said casing and provided with a collar or sleeve, and an arm passing through the same operated by the chair-seat during the rocking motion of the same, whereby said racks are caused to reciprocate through said casing and thereby rotate the propelling-shaft, as and for the purposes set forth. y

l2. In a rocking-chair or other seat, the combination, with the base thereof, of atube secured to said base and extendingup above the seat of the chair, a flexible shaft Within said tube, provided with a fan, said tube having secured thereto a pivoted rod extending up therefrom, which passes through a perforated plate secured to the bottom of the chairseat, and mechanism operated by said rod to cause said shaft and its fan to revolve in one direction, as and for the purposes set forth.

13. In a rocking-chair or other seat, the combination, with the base thereof, of a tube secured to said base and extending up above the seat of the chair, a fiexible shaft within said tube, provided with a fan, said tube having secured thereto a pivoted rod extending u p therefrom, which passes through a perforated plate secured to the bottom of the chairseat, and mechanism operated by said rod to cause said shaft and its fan to revolve in one direct-ion, consisting, essentially, of two racks attached at one end to a collar through which said pivoted rod moves, and whereby said racks receive a reciprocatory movement during the rocking motion of the chair, said racks entering openings in a casing secured on the end of the shaft-tube having pinions therein, as and for the purposes set forth.

14. In combination with the fan H, arranged above the chair, a tube containing a flexible shaft, racks and pinions operating said shaft, collar d3 on said racks, and a spring-rod d2, Working through said collar of the chair-seat, and the other end of said rod being pivotally secured to the tube, as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the invention set forth aboveI have hereunto set my handthis 13th day of May, 1890.

CHARLES C. SPALSBURY.

Witnesses:

EMMA A. SPALsBURY, FREDK. C. FRAENTZEL. 

